Dark Calling
by Bob Lobster
Summary: When the truth about Ranma's past comes out, everything changes, but is it for the better, or the worse.


Dark Calling  
  
A Ranma Crossover Story  
  
By Bob Lobster  
  
Disclaimer: Anyone who thinks these characters belong to me, I have  
  
this great real estate deal to tell you about...  
  
Prologue  
  
Alone. I'm starting to get used to being alone, though I'm not  
  
sure it's something I'll ever truly be used to. I don't have much of a  
  
choice at the moment though, so I suppose that's neither here, nor  
  
there. Sometimes I think I was born to be alone. My father always  
  
frowned disapprovingly whenever I said things like that and patiently  
  
(or as patiently as he could) explained that nobody deserved to be  
  
alone, least of all me. On nights when the urges got to be too much,  
  
when the self-pity and self-loathing became overwhelming, he'd sit me  
  
down and tell me how he'd always be there for me, how I was a good  
  
person, someone worthy of respect and love, and how I shouldn't let  
  
anyone tell me otherwise. He would tell me that it didn't matter what  
  
urges I had, because I never gave into them, and that made me strong  
  
and honourable and someone he was proud to call his son. Mistakes  
  
aside, everyone made mistakes after all, let it never be said that my  
  
father wasn't a great man, in his own way. He was never the most  
  
honourable, nor the most honest man, but he was truly a loving father.  
  
He was true to his word, too. No matter how tempting it must have  
  
been at times, when the things he had to do for me got to him, as I'm  
  
sure they did, he never left me. He raised me as well as he could,  
  
shaping me into a warrior to surpass even his vast skills. I sometimes  
  
wonder if I would have been so strong as I am if not for my 'gifts'.  
  
Certainly I wouldn't be physically as strong, or as fast, but I like  
  
to think that my skill is mine alone, built through trial after trial,  
  
harsh training after harsh training, until it reached a level that I  
  
didn't even believe possible. The fact that my father could still keep  
  
up with me, even with all my skill and my 'gifts' raised my level of  
  
respect for him higher every year we were together.  
  
It wasn't until my sixteenth year that I began to see some of his  
  
mistakes come back to haunt me. Yet, I managed to take most of it in  
  
stride. I acted angry, to be sure, but that's mostly what it was: an  
  
act. I couldn't very well tell the people around me, after all, why it  
  
was that I stayed loyal to my father despite all that happened because  
  
of him. As I said, everyone makes mistakes, my father just made more  
  
than most people. What can I say; his intelligence was never something  
  
he was known for. He must have known what would happen when we settled  
  
down for a time, though, because before we arrived at what would  
  
become our home for just over a year he explained a few things to me.  
  
How the people we would be with knew nothing of what I was and how it  
  
would be best if it stayed that way for the time being. I was  
  
disappointed that I had to hide, but we'd been driven out of more than  
  
one town due to my 'condition' so I knew that this was for the best.  
  
Part of this plan was my apparent disrespect for him. I knew, of  
  
course, that most people who had lived my life would no doubt be  
  
resentful of him. Living on the road, never staying anywhere long,  
  
always undergoing the harshest training imaginable. For most people it  
  
would be considered hellish. For me, just the fact that he stayed with  
  
me, that he still cared about me regardless of what he knew about me  
  
and what I was, that was enough to allow me to ignore any mistakes he  
  
made and simply appreciate the time he spent with me. I knew, as well,  
  
that though my training seemed hellish, it was all intended to be for  
  
my own good, to keep me alive through the trials that I would no doubt  
  
have to face in my life.  
  
His plan worked rather well, too. Whenever one of his little  
  
mistakes caught up with us, I acted sufficiently upset. When we  
  
sparred, I kept the insults coming. My special 'needs' we took care of  
  
under cover of darkness, without anyone, even the ever-vigilant Nabiki  
  
noticing. Over a year, we managed to keep it a secret; a blessed year  
  
of attending school, and hanging out with friends, and just being a  
  
relatively normal teen for a change. Well, I suppose normal is a  
  
matter of viewpoint in this case, as most would say my life was  
  
anything but normal. Several girls vying for my affection in  
  
rather...extreme ways; rivals out for my blood, or the love of the  
  
girls; magical curses, princes and martial arts of the most unique  
  
varieties. None of that mattered to me, though. People may have seen  
  
me as strange, but at least they saw me as human, not the monster I  
  
was used to being seen as, not the monster I knew I was. It wasn't  
  
until I faced an opponent so relentless and so horribly powerful, that  
  
I had to pull out all the stops to win that my true nature was finally  
  
revealed.  
  
I can still see the look of disgust on the Godling's face when he  
  
realized what he was fighting. I can hear the condescending tone of  
  
voice as he proclaimed that no beast such as me could beat him, that I  
  
should return to the darkness that spawned me. I can feel the sadness  
  
that consumed me as I saw Elder Cologne put together what I truly was,  
  
finally connecting the multitude of oddities she had noticed about me  
  
over the year we had known each other. I knew that trying to hide it  
  
further at that point was senseless, so I threw everything I had into  
  
the fight, using all my gifts to their fullest, mixing them seamlessly  
  
with the skills I had built up over the years. I laughed out loud at  
  
the look of surprise on Saffron's face when a mere 'creature' like me  
  
began to overpower him. I finally allowed my urges full reign and tore  
  
him apart with my bare hands, relishing in his blood as it splashed  
  
over my face and hands.  
  
It took all my willpower to pull myself back from the abyss at  
  
that point, but pull myself back I did. I still had a person's life to  
  
save after all. Akane lived, just barely, and I knew that I should be  
  
thrilled. A part of me was. Most of me simply mourned the life I knew  
  
I had lost when the Phoenix God had opened his mouth. I was suddenly  
  
very happy that my father had accompanied us to China as I took  
  
strength from his sad, but still strong visage. I wouldn't break down,  
  
not with him there to support me. Even with Shampoo demanding to know  
  
what 'Stupid Bird-man' had meant; even with Mousse looking at me in  
  
shock and disgust; even as Ryoga stared at me in a mixture of surprise  
  
and (most surprising to me) pity; even as Elder Cologne looked away in  
  
sadness and resignation. I wouldn't make excuses and I wouldn't lie.  
  
My father had done his job well; I may not have liked what I was, but  
  
I was proud of who I was.  
  
I was Ranma Saotome.  
  
I was Dampyr.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
The trip home (There's a strange word: home. I wonder sometimes if  
  
there's such a thing as home, or is it just a pretty word for the  
  
place you sleep nights.) was tense, to say the least. Nobody had  
  
bothered to really explain much to the uninformed, leading to their  
  
frustration, and those who either knew, or had figured out, what was  
  
going on had their own thoughts to dwell on. I had fully expected the  
  
Amazons to stay in China, forsaking whatever claim they had on me.  
  
Cologne knew what I was, after all, or at least that was the  
  
impression I got, how could she be anything but disgusted by the  
  
prospect of bringing me into her village? They stayed with us, though,  
  
with Cologne brooding and Mousse practically celebrating the whole  
  
way. Shampoo still didn't understand what was happening and I could  
  
tell it was starting to get to her by the end of the trip. I had  
  
wondered why Mousse hadn't filled her in his exuberance, but felt that  
  
Cologne probably wanted to do it herself for whatever reason.  
  
Ryoga kept mostly to himself for most of the trip home. It was  
  
obvious to me that he knew what was happening; the look of  
  
comprehension on his face when Saffron wagged his tongue was too much  
  
to be confused for anything else. What surprised me was that he didn't  
  
seem upset over it. In fact, while deep in thought for most of the  
  
time, those few moments he spoke, or even really looked in my  
  
direction, there was friendliness, and a look of saddened  
  
understanding that I hadn't seen in all the time I'd known him. I  
  
never did get a chance to ask him about it though as he became lost  
  
shortly before we reached the boat back to Japan and I haven't seen  
  
him since. Somehow, I still hope he'll show up around a corner in some  
  
distant town. He was always a good friend when we weren't fighting and  
  
a great challenge when we were. He was one of the few people I knew  
  
that I could let all my gifts out on and still have a good brawl. I  
  
hope I can fight him again sometime.  
  
I could tell that father was worried about the reactions when we  
  
returned, though I couldn't really blame him. The few times people had  
  
figured things out in towns we'd stayed in on the road had not ended  
  
well in the least. If we were lucky, we were merely asked to leave.  
  
Usually, we were asked to leave amidst flying rocks and curses. I  
  
hoped that Mr. Tendo wouldn't react badly to this. He was my father's  
  
only real friend and I didn't want to be the cause of a rift between  
  
them. I was also worried that if I were forced to go on the road  
  
again, it would force father to come with me. I knew that he would  
  
never abandon me to a lonely road without any companionship, and I was  
  
thankful for it. It was always nice to know that he cared enough to  
  
give up the amenities of modern life and return to the road, merely so  
  
that I wouldn't be alone. As thankful as I knew I would be for the  
  
company, however, I couldn't drag him through that again. He loved  
  
Nodoka, I knew that he did, and he hated to be apart from her any more  
  
than he had to be. I had already separated him from his beloved wife  
  
for ten years, I couldn't bare to do so any longer.  
  
I cared for her as well, of course, but only because she was such  
  
an important part of my father's life. Anyone who could make my father  
  
as happy as she did deserved my affection. As a mother, however? Well,  
  
I didn't really remember her from the short period of time she had  
  
helped raise me, and she certainly wasn't my real mother, so it wasn't  
  
really possible for me to feel anything special about her. She was a  
  
wonderful woman, without a doubt, but she wasn't my mother and I knew  
  
it all too well.  
  
Akane, thankfully, spent most of the trip back resting in an  
  
attempt to recover the strength lost during her brush with death. I  
  
really didn't relish the thought of explaining the current situation  
  
to her and hoped that she stayed in her less than inquisitive mood for  
  
the remainder of the trip home. Thankfully, that was one wish that was  
  
fulfilled.  
  
When we finally reached Nerima, Akane was more or less recovered  
  
from her ordeal. It had helped a great deal that we took the train  
  
across Japan rather than walking as we normally would have done, both  
  
physically in Akane's recovery and mentally in that the trip was  
  
shorter, sparing further frayed nerves due to the tenseness. Arriving  
  
at the dojo, we were instantly barraged with questions about our trip,  
  
the battles, and our apparent lack of souvenirs. It always surprised  
  
me how lightly Kasumi could take matters of life and death but I  
  
suppose I had never given her reason to worry. Ranma Saotome never  
  
lost after all. After answering as many questions as we could - mostly  
  
by my father and I as Akane was out of it for most of the fighting and  
  
the Amazons had returned to the restaurant to unpack - we all sat down  
  
to a welcome back dinner, cooked by Kasumi and Nodoka. Father and I  
  
even managed to begin to relax, thinking that perhaps, with Akane  
  
unaware of most of what happened between the Phoenix god and I, my  
  
secret would be maintained. We were just finishing dinner, however, as  
  
the Amazons came over to visit, knocking on the door for a change  
  
instead of just barging in by whatever entrance they could find or  
  
make. When Kasumi brought them to the dinning room, Cologne looking  
  
even more stoic than I'd ever seen her and even Mousse and Shampoo  
  
looking serious for a change, though Shampoo still looked confused and  
  
Mousse had a ecstatic aura about him that was impossible to miss, we  
  
knew that things were about to fall apart. The previous tension  
  
returned instantly and even those in the room who knew nothing of the  
  
situation knew something big was about to happen.  
  
"Hello, Ranma. I believe we need to talk." Cologne began the  
  
conversation and I felt my heart fall into my stomach. It had been  
  
obvious since the start that she knew the truth, but until then I  
  
hadn't been entirely sure what she had planned to do with that  
  
information. Her use of my real name was enough to tip me off that at  
  
the very least I wouldn't be joining her tribe any time soon. Judging  
  
from the look of shock on Shampoo's face she still hadn't been told  
  
what her great-grandmother knew but she too recognized the  
  
significance of the usage of my name. "Of course, you know why we're  
  
here."  
  
"I can guess." I answered, obviously not happy to be having that  
  
particular conversation. Despite my sadness, I was also a little  
  
angry, and even somewhat disappointed in Cologne. Somehow, I expected  
  
better in her than the usual reactions I got from people, but she  
  
obviously intended to break off ties with me, otherwise she wouldn't  
  
be using the formality of my name and the courtesy she was showing the  
  
household. I was surprised, though, when the small amount of anger  
  
that entered my voice was met with a look of sadness and sympathy from  
  
the elder. The unfamiliar response robbed me of most of my anger,  
  
leaving merely sad resignation in its place. "Have a seat, we might as  
  
well get this over with."  
  
Cologne sat down at the table across from me, followed immediately  
  
by Mousse and Shampoo on either side of her. She looked around at all  
  
the other people in the room quietly before addressing me once more,  
  
and surprising me as well. "Perhaps we should speak in a more private  
  
setting. It is a rather personal matter."  
  
Before I had a chance to answer, and agree with her as I had  
  
planned, Nabiki managed to respond first. She spoke in a jesting  
  
manner, but I could tell the effects of her words were well planned  
  
out. "What, is Shampoo pregnant or something?"  
  
Predictably, at Nabiki's words Akane insisted on staying,  
  
prompting Soun to follow suit. Nabiki was smirking slightly, knowing  
  
that there was no real way to keep them out at that point and I sighed  
  
sadly, knowing she was right. I glanced at my father next to me and  
  
saw the same look of resignation that was no doubt on my face.  
  
Catching my glance, he put a fatherly hand on my shoulder, surprising  
  
several of the room's occupants at his show of support. Turning away  
  
from my father, my gaze fell on Nodoka and I saw a look of dawning  
  
comprehension, followed by slight horror as she realized what the  
  
conversation was going to be about. It wasn't the horror-filled gaze I  
  
was used to, however, as I could tell that she was merely saddened  
  
that I would soon lose all that I had gained over the past year. For a  
  
moment I felt true regret that the woman sitting next to my father  
  
wasn't my real mother, as she would have made a truly good one.  
  
Looking back to Cologne, I avoided everyone else's gaze and  
  
decided that the sooner we began the sooner the conversation would be  
  
done with. As much as I wasn't looking forward to everyone's reaction,  
  
at that moment I just wanted it over with. I began simply enough, not  
  
wanting to give anything away on the off chance she didn't know.  
  
"Since it don't look like we'll be getting privacy, why don't ya tell  
  
me what you know."  
  
Cologne did start then, though she didn't get directly to the  
  
point right away. "Though I must admit, it did surprise me to find out  
  
the truth, I always suspected there was more to you than showed,  
  
Ranma. In the end, I guess it doesn't surprise me that Genma's not  
  
your real father, though..." She cut off then when I laughed out loud.  
  
The thought that Genma wasn't my father was absolutely ridiculous to  
  
me. I couldn't imagine anyone who more deserved the title of "Father"  
  
than mine. Looking a little startled, Cologne backtracked slightly.  
  
"Obviously I was mistaken about something. Perhaps you would care to  
  
correct me, Ranma."  
  
I smiled at her, somewhat satisfied to know that I had gotten one  
  
up on the old woman, even if I knew that the conversation would still  
  
go where she wanted it to. "Genma's definitely my father, Cologne,  
  
even if lots of people seem ta think he's not." I glanced over at him  
  
and could see the pride he had for me shinning in his eyes, as well as  
  
the sadness that I had to deal with the same situation once more.  
  
"Frankly, I couldn't think of a better father than him." I finished  
  
smiling at his happy look, before turning back towards Cologne. More  
  
than a few people looked shocked at my words, not surprising  
  
considering the disdain I usually showed towards the man.  
  
After taking a short moment to regain her bearing, Cologne  
  
continued the conversation. "I see." She said, stopping a moment to  
  
accept the tea Kasumi offered her with a smile of thanks, before  
  
looking at my father and me once more and continuing. "I was under the  
  
impression that your kind was usually passed from the father's side."  
  
It was obvious she was choosing her words carefully, making sure  
  
not to give too much away, on the chance that she had something else  
  
wrong. I was about to answer, when my father beat me to it. I let him  
  
take the question, since he was a good deal more knowledgeable on the  
  
matter of my heritage than I was. He had spent a good deal of time  
  
studying the subject before we left on our trip. The thought of my  
  
father tucked away in a stuffy little library, studying old books for  
  
hours still makes me laugh - no one ever mistook him for a scholar,  
  
after all - but that's exactly what he did.  
  
"Normally, that is the way that people such as my son come about."  
  
He smiled a bit at that point before continuing. "Ranma has never been  
  
mistaken for normal, however." Cologne chuckled a bit at his words,  
  
though the sound was almost frightening coming from her.  
  
"Perhaps you could fill me in on Ranma's situation then." The  
  
elder began. It was obvious that she was intrigued by my unique  
  
situation and I found myself somewhat pleasantly surprised by the  
  
direction the conversation was going. I had expected a cold dismissal;  
  
the Amazon's treating me like an animal before going back to China.  
  
Cologne actually seemed to be treating me with more respect now that  
  
she knew the truth than she did before. "I can logically assume that  
  
your wife is not Ranma's true mother than?"  
  
The Tendo daughters and Shampoo gasped at that bit of information,  
  
especially when Genma nodded in response, having expected him to deny  
  
it. Mousse stayed silent so I assume he had already come to the same  
  
conclusion and Soun merely nodded to himself. Having been my father's  
  
friend for longer than I've been alive, I knew that he must have known  
  
at least a small part of the truth, though he obviously didn't know  
  
what I was. After the gasps had subsided, my father elaborated. "No,  
  
Nodoka and I married after Ranma's mother died. She is actually  
  
Ranma's aunt, his mother's sister."  
  
"I see, perhaps you could tell me exactly how Ranma came to be  
  
what he is then, since you are obviously not of the Dark." Cologne  
  
obviously had a good idea of how I came about, but she probably wanted  
  
not only to be clear on everything, but for the story behind it all.  
  
My story is unusual, after all, even for my kind. It was at this  
  
point, however, that various people's curiosities got the best of them  
  
and Akane, always having had the smallest amount of patience of those  
  
present, spoke for all those not of the know.  
  
"Wait, wait. What the hell are you guys talking about?" Her  
  
frustration at not knowing what was going on was apparent as her  
  
temper flared. "Why do you keep talking about Ranma like he's not  
  
human or something?"  
  
I flinched a little at her question, knowing that she had hit it  
  
so close to the mark. I managed to reign in my emotions, however, and  
  
answered her question. I know that I probably should have held off the  
  
truth as long as I could, but I knew it would come out eventually so I  
  
was determined that it would be from my own lips. "They're talking  
  
about me that way cause I'm not human, not completely." My voice was  
  
quiet, but I had everyone's attention. I noticed that that statement  
  
surprised even Soun, proving to me that while he knew Nodoka wasn't my  
  
mother, that was all he knew. "I'm Dampyr."  
  
Everyone sat in silence for a few moments, and I could tell that  
  
those who didn't already know the truth were somewhat confused by the  
  
strange term. Not many people know what a Dampyr is, so I wasn't too  
  
surprised by this. What did surprise me, however, was that Kasumi of  
  
all people seemed to know instantly what I was referring to. I looked  
  
at her strangely for a moment as she smoothed her expression to her  
  
regular calm one, though there was a hint of sadness in it. It was  
  
Shampoo who broke the silence. "Shampoo no understand. What Dampyr?"  
  
It was my father that once more picked up the question though he  
  
didn't actually answer it. "Perhaps I should start at the beginning.  
  
What we are referring to will become obvious as I give Elder Cologne  
  
her explanation." Seeing everyone nod, though in Akane and Shampoo's  
  
cases, somewhat reluctantly, he began to tell his story. "I was only  
  
eighteen years old when I first came into contact with Nodoka's  
  
family. Me and Soun had just come back from a training trip with the  
  
Master when I met Nodoka for the first time. It was love at first  
  
sight for me, and even then I knew I'd love her the rest of my life."  
  
He glanced at his wife then and she gave him a small smile, taking his  
  
hand in hers. Looking back at the group, he chuckled a bit before  
  
continuing. "It took a bit more convincing on my part to get her to  
  
see it though. I was young and arrogant and completely lacking in  
  
anything resembling charm." He smiled in an embarrassed sort of way at  
  
his own remarks, while Nodoka and Soun both chuckled, no doubt  
  
remembering some past foolishness he had committed. "I was, however,  
  
very persistent and I eventually convinced her that I was worthy of  
  
dating. The two of us became a couple at that point, though we kept it  
  
secret from everyone but Soun.  
  
"Part of our secrecy, I'll admit, came from the thrill of having a  
  
hidden romance. I wonder sometimes how differently things would have  
  
turned out if we'd been open about our relationship, but I guess I'll  
  
never know." He became quite for a few moments then, lost in thought,  
  
and it wasn't until Nodoka gently placed her hand on his shoulder that  
  
he came back to the present. He stumbled with his words a bit before  
  
managing to pick up where he left off. "The only other person who knew  
  
of our relationship was Nodoka's elder sister, though she found out on  
  
her own, not from us."  
  
Father glanced at his side at that moment, looking into the sad  
  
eyes of his wife. We both knew that her sister's fate was, and would  
  
always be a sore point for her, but she held up well under the  
  
retelling, even taking over the story for a few moments. "My sister  
  
was only a year older than me and was fiercely jealous of the  
  
affection our parents game me. As much as I hate to admit it, I never  
  
did much to stop those feelings in her, enjoying the attention that  
  
Mother and Father gave me and never stopping to think of Midori's  
  
feelings. I was somewhat...spoiled at the time, and I'm not surprised  
  
that she hated me as much as she did though I never realized it at the  
  
time. Suffice it to say, when she saw Genma and I together, she became  
  
enraged at what she saw as something else I had that she didn't:  
  
Love."  
  
At this point, Father once more picked up the story where Nodoka  
  
left off. I had, of course, heard the story plenty of times in the  
  
past but I found myself drawn in along with everyone else to the tale.  
  
It was hard not to be when the storytellers spoke with such emotion as  
  
my Father and Nodoka did. Even Cologne was practically sitting on the  
  
edge of her seat. "What neither Nodoka nor myself knew at the time was  
  
that our families had had close ties for generations. It seemed that  
  
our generation was when the families planned to join together and an  
  
arranged marriage between myself and either Nodoka or Midori had been  
  
set up. Somehow, Midori found out about the arrangement and decided to  
  
take it upon herself to make sure that me and Nodoka didn't end up  
  
together. I guess she thought it would be revenge for all the years  
  
she had been overshadowed by Nodoka."  
  
"She must have talked to Father," Nodoka began again, "and  
  
convinced him that she should be the one to fulfill the family honour.  
  
In the end, he was most likely happy that she was finally taking an  
  
interest in matters of honour. Combined with the fact that he was  
  
loath to force anything on me, he was probably quick to jump on the  
  
opportunity and allow Midori her way." She sighed deeply then, old  
  
pain flashing in her eyes before she continued. "He was so happy that  
  
she was getting married, and she seemed so happy as well that I  
  
couldn't bring myself to tell Father the truth. Instead, I sat back  
  
and acted as the dutiful daughter and watched the proceedings, even as  
  
my heart broke."  
  
Father squeezed Nodoka's hand lightly, taking strength from her  
  
and offering his own in return before continuing where she left off.  
  
"When I first found out about the engagement, I fought it tooth and  
  
nail. I was already in love with Nodoka, and was determined to get out  
  
of the arrangement and back to her. My Mother quickly reminded me of  
  
the importance of family honour, however, and I was forced to relent.  
  
Nothing was more important to me than honour and I had to give up my  
  
happiness with Nodoka to appease it."  
  
He grimaced then, and I couldn't help but come to a startling  
  
realization. It was something I'd never really understood, how much my  
  
father talked about the importance of honour and how much he  
  
disregarded his own teachings. Watching him tell his tale, however, I  
  
realized that it was this incident that killed my father's respect for  
  
honour. He still tried to teach me of honour and make sure I followed  
  
the martial artist's code, but he himself could no longer follow a  
  
code of honour that had caused him so much pain. "Two months later,  
  
the arrangements were fully completed and I found myself married to  
  
Midori. She acted happy to be with me at first, but things quickly  
  
went downhill the longer we were together. It was three months into  
  
our marriage that she discovered she was pregnant and all pretenses  
  
were finally dropped.  
  
"I suppose that with a child on the way, she considered her  
  
obligation to her family complete and no longer needed to pretend she  
  
cared about me at all. She began flirting with other men right in  
  
front of me, openly displaying her lack of respect to me. She soon  
  
moved out of our room as well, stating that she would rather sleep  
  
alone than with me from then on. Though I suspected that she wasn't  
  
sleeping alone anyway, there was never really any evidence to the  
  
contrary. This went on for nearly a month before she disappeared  
  
completely." Father sighed to himself once more and a sadness settled  
  
on him as he was once more lost in thought for a few moments. As badly  
  
as she treated him, I think he truly did care about my mother, at  
  
least a little bit. Thought of her disappearance always seemed to  
  
weigh heavily on him, too much so for him not to care at all. "One  
  
night, she went out as she usually did, only that time she never came  
  
back."  
  
Nodoka looked like the old memories were beginning to get the  
  
better of her but she managed to keep a steady voice as she picked up  
  
the story. "Father was heartbroken, of course. For all that they  
  
tended to ignore her, my parents loved Midori dearly. He spent a great  
  
deal of money and time trying to locate her, but nothing ever came of  
  
it, she simply wasn't to be found."  
  
"Nodoka spent a great deal of time with me during this period,  
  
though we kept our relationship on a friendly level, I was still  
  
married to her sister after all. It was while she was visiting that  
  
Midori came by the house. We never saw her and in fact I can only  
  
assume that she came herself, but it was about seven months after she  
  
disappeared that the knock came to my door. When I got to the door,  
  
whoever had knocked was gone leaving only a basket and a note." Father  
  
glanced at me with a smile at that point and I could almost feel the  
  
pride he had at that moment, when he realized he was looking at his  
  
son. "In the basket was, of course, Ranma and the note included  
  
instructions on how to take care of him. I like to think that it was  
  
Midori's last truly human act, giving Ranma up. She must have known  
  
that he never could have lived the life she had, that he would be  
  
hated and probably killed by her people. Giving him up was something  
  
she did for his own good more than her own. Ranma probably took her  
  
last shred of human goodness with him though as the next time we met,  
  
some five years later in Kyoto, there was nothing human left about  
  
her."  
  
For the first time since he began his story, someone other than my  
  
father and Nodoka spoke up. Unable to contain her curiosity any  
  
longer, Nabiki asked the question that was on several of their minds.  
  
"What...what was she?"  
  
Father looked at her for a long moment before answering in a  
  
roundabout way. "It's kind of funny. The note with Ranma's basket told  
  
us how to care for him, but it never actually told us why he needed  
  
the care he did. I didn't really believe the note anyway until he  
  
began getting weaker and I was forced to try following the  
  
instructions. It wasn't until Midori told me what had happened during  
  
the months she was missing that I finally understood why Ranma was  
  
different from other children. It still sickens me to think of her,  
  
standing there with Ranma's neck held tightly in her hand, bragging  
  
about how much better she was than other people. Threatening to kill  
  
her own child as she told me how wonderful she had become, how the man  
  
she met in some seedy bar the night she disappeared, some blonde  
  
foreigner named Spike, had liberated her." He shuddered a bit and I  
  
placed a supporting hand on his arm, even as Nodoka squeezed his hand  
  
gently. I barely remembered the incident, having only been five at the  
  
time, but I knew how hard it was on him, if only by the way his eyes  
  
darkened whenever he thought about it. "She told me how he had taken  
  
her back to his lair and turned her, even as our son grew in her  
  
womb."  
  
"Tu-turned her?" Nabiki asked in a quiet, almost frightened voice.  
  
I'd never heard her sound so much like a child as she did at that  
  
moment and I realized that my Father's story was getting to her more  
  
than I thought it would have. "Turned her to what?"  
  
Father looked around the room for a few moments before answering  
  
in an almost eerily calm voice. "Into a vampire, like him." The  
  
silence in the room at his words was so complete that I could have  
  
almost thought I had gone deaf, if I couldn't have heard each of their  
  
heartbeats. It took several moments for this latest bit of information  
  
to be processed by those present before anyone could say anything,  
  
though Shampoo still continued to look confused until her great-  
  
grandmother whispered something into her ear in Cantonese, at which  
  
point her eyes widened considerably. I suppose that she didn't know  
  
what the word vampire meant any more that she did Dampyr, though  
  
whatever Cologne said got the point across.  
  
It was Soun who broke the silence that time, asking a question  
  
that I don't think my father truly wanted to answer. "How did you get  
  
the lad away from her, Saotome?" His voice was quiet, the atmosphere  
  
of the room enough to make it seem like anything louder than a whisper  
  
was deafening.  
  
My Father's voice was grim when he answered. "That, Tendo, was the  
  
last time I ever used the Saotome Forbidden Techniques," His eyes  
  
lowered to the table for a moment before he continued in a quieter  
  
voice. "and the only time I've ever taken a life." Several soft gasps  
  
were heard around the table and I saw Soun shudder slightly, probably  
  
thinking about the vicious lethality of my Father's techniques.  
  
For several minutes, everyone around the table sat in silence,  
  
absorbing everything that was said, before anyone broke the silence  
  
that had fallen since my Father's last remark. Unsurprisingly, it was  
  
then that Cologne finally spoke up. "I see. Thank you for your honesty  
  
in this matter, Saotome-san, I can see how much telling it affects  
  
you." I was surprised at the level of honest respect Cologne showed  
  
for my Father at that point but realized that she must have seen that  
  
there was more honour and integrity to him than most people ever  
  
noticed. "Now that I know the details of Ranma's past, it's time we  
  
discussed what this means to his obligation to Shampoo."  
  
Most of the people in the room came back to full attention at her  
  
words, though I noticed that Akane still seemed to be having trouble  
  
wrapping her mind around all that had been said. Part of me hoped that  
  
she would be able to adjust, but a much larger part realized that no  
  
one else ever had. I also noticed that Kasumi still looked unphased by  
  
any of what had transpired and I realized that she never really looked  
  
very surprised by the major revelations my Father had put forth. It  
  
became obvious to me that she knew what a Dampyr was, and therefore  
  
knew what my mother and I were, even before my Father's story. I made  
  
a note to ask her later if I got the chance.  
  
After taking a moment to pull her thoughts together, Cologne began  
  
again. "As much as I would like to say that this changes nothing, we  
  
all know that I would be lying." She took a deep breath, risking a  
  
glance to see how Shampoo was taking everything in. Seeing her great-  
  
granddaughter still hanging off her every word, Cologne continued.  
  
"The fact is, there have only been two other recorded Dampyrs in our  
  
villages history, but the laws built from those experiences are very  
  
specific. Due to the...instincts inherited from a Dampyr's demonic  
  
parent, and the bloodlust involved, our laws forbid allowing any  
  
contact between village members and any of your kind." Cologne sighed  
  
sadly and I could tell that she actually felt bad about what she had  
  
to do. It a way, it made me feel a bit better, but at the same time I  
  
felt worse. Just once, I wished she would forget her stupid laws. "As  
  
such, I'm forced to cancel the kiss of marriage that Shampoo gave to  
  
you. Shampoo and I will be returning to China as soon as we're able to  
  
put all our affairs here in order. Should we meet you again after  
  
today, we'll be forced to treat you as a stranger."  
  
"Great-grandmother, no!" Shampoo had jumped to her feet at this  
  
point, viciously denying Cologne's words, though I could see the  
  
desperation in her eyes. Despite her denials, she knew that this was  
  
one law she couldn't fight. She was quickly quelled when Cologne  
  
turned a silent glare to her, standing up as well.  
  
"You know the laws as well as I do, child." She said sharply, far  
  
more sharply than I had ever heard her speak to her heir. "And you  
  
know why they were put in place." Shampoo looked down, seemingly  
  
ashamed at her outburst and I knew that she wouldn't speak up against  
  
this decision again. I'll admit, I felt a brief moment of relief at  
  
the thought of some peace and quiet without the Amazons around, though  
  
I immediately felt guilty about those feelings and depressed that I  
  
was losing more people I thought of as friends. Cologne turned to face  
  
me once more and in the time she had been staring at Shampoo she had  
  
put an emotionless mask on her face. "Well, I suppose since there is  
  
nothing more to discuss, we will be on our way." She bowed formally to  
  
me before straightening and addressing in once more. "Goodbye Saotome-  
  
san, it has been a pleasure to teach you. I hope you do well in your  
  
life." Then she turned, glancing once at both Shampoo and Mousse  
  
before walking out of the room without another word.  
  
Mousse looked at me for a moment then, a strangely subdued  
  
expression on his face, before standing up and walking up to me,  
  
stopping a short distance away. He stared at me for a few more moments  
  
before bowing slightly and addressing me. "Goodbye Saotome. Good  
  
luck." And with those words, he too left the room, leaving only  
  
Shampoo behind.  
  
Shampoo watched me for a long moment, her eyes clouded with  
  
sadness, as she no doubt contemplated all that had happened in the  
  
last little while. I could see the indecision in her eyes before her  
  
resolve firmed and she walked up to me calmly. She only hesitated  
  
briefly as she stepped up to me before pulling me into a warm embrace  
  
and I hesitated even less before returning it. We both knew this was  
  
goodbye and though I may never have loved her the way she wanted me  
  
to, I would miss her. I could feel soft tears hit my shoulder as she  
  
whispered a quiet "Bie liao, Airen." into my ear and though I would  
  
never admit it to anyone, I felt my eyes well up as well. It was  
  
Shampoo who broke the embrace, pulling back from me slightly, a small,  
  
sad smile on her tear streaked face before leaning in once more and  
  
kissing me lightly.  
  
Though I wasn't terribly surprised she had kissed me, never having  
  
been shy about showing affection, the kiss itself was a surprise.  
  
Rather than her usual passionate, slightly dominating kisses, this one  
  
was soft and gentle and yet it seemed immensely more powerful. Despite  
  
how vigorously she had chased after me for all the time I'd known her,  
  
I always felt like it was done more out of respect for her laws and  
  
want of a strong husband than any real affection for me. As she  
  
pressed her lips tenderly to mine though, I could feel her love for me  
  
and it left me breathless. After a moment, she broke apart from me  
  
again and this time stepped completely away. Turning without another  
  
word she walked from the room and I haven't seen her again to this  
  
day.  
  
Suddenly remembering the others in the room, I turned quickly,  
  
half expecting to see the business end of a mallet screaming towards  
  
me and half wondering why it hadn't already flattened me. When I  
  
turned towards the table, however, it was to the sight of everyone  
  
still sitting in the same positions, though I noticed that the mood  
  
was rather somber. Soun seemed lost in thought and probably had barely  
  
noticed the last few minutes. Father was looking at me with sympathy,  
  
though I noticed he had a level of dread in his eyes and I knew it was  
  
fear of what the Tendos would do with this new information. Nodoka,  
  
Kasumi and Nabiki all seemed rather affected by the scene that had  
  
just played out before them and I noticed, with a small amount of  
  
surprise, that Nabiki was wiping a small amount of moisture from her  
  
eyes. It was Akane's expression, though, that disturbed me. She looked  
  
dazed, like she didn't really know where she was and I knew that she  
  
was still in shock over my father's story. This scared me slightly,  
  
I'll admit, because I realized that it was not only likely, but  
  
extremely probable that she would quickly go from dazed to angry.  
  
People had a tendency to lash out when confused and I knew Akane was  
  
no different - quite the contrary, she was more likely to lash out  
  
than most.  
  
I was actually slightly grateful when it was Kasumi who broke the  
  
silence in the room, standing up and beginning to gather the dishes  
  
while addressing the room as a whole. "Well, that was quite a lot to  
  
take in. I think it may be best if we all retire to think things  
  
through." Her words were met with very little response, though it did  
  
get most people moving again. Soun voiced his need of a bath, and  
  
quickly moved off toward the furo, while Nabiki silently left to her  
  
room. Nodoka and my Father both left the table as well, quietly  
  
conversing as they headed outside, no doubt to discuss the situation  
  
and what would happen next. Akane, however, just sat at her spot at  
  
the table, staring out into space. She glanced at me from time to  
  
time, but for the most part she just seemed lost in thought. Unable to  
  
take her vacant look any longer, I finally simply began to help Kasumi  
  
clear the table. I still remembered her recognition of my condition  
  
and felt that this was the best time to find out how she knew about  
  
it.  
  
Wandering into the kitchen with the last of the dishes, I saw her  
  
beginning to wash the ones she had already brought in. Wordlessly I  
  
stepped up beside her, lifting a dishtowel in hand and began to dry  
  
the ones she had washed. We worked in silence for a fair amount of  
  
time this way, her washing dishes and handing them to me to dry. After  
  
she had handed me the last dish, and I had finished drying it, Kasumi  
  
pulled the plug on the drain and we merely stood for a moment, waiting  
  
for the water to finish running out of the sink. As we stood, my mind  
  
wandered over what I knew of the woman next to me, and what,  
  
apparently, I had no idea about. I'd always known Kasumi to be a very  
  
traditional girl but for her to actually know anything about Dampyrs  
  
would require an extremely in-depth knowledge of the occult. It took  
  
my Father months of searching libraries to find anything about my kind  
  
and, although he's never been the best researcher in the world, he was  
  
very dedicated. My curiosity finally got the better of me and I  
  
resolved to ask her about it. "Kasumi?"  
  
She glanced over at me with a smile, though tinged be a bit of  
  
sadness that I hadn't seen there before. "Yes, Ranma?"  
  
"You, umm..." Suddenly I was at a loss for words. In all the time  
  
I'd been in the Tendo home, one of the rules of the house was that  
  
Kasumi was never questioned. Nobody said the rule out loud, of course,  
  
but it was well understood that she gave so much to everyone in the  
  
household, that questioning her on just about anything simply wasn't  
  
done. It was a hard habit to break. I was determined to get my  
  
questions answered, however, and decided to just get straight to the  
  
point of the matter. "You knew what a Dampyr was...what I am, before  
  
my Father told his story. I was just...umm, that is I was kinda  
  
wondering, ya know...how?" My voice trailed off as I realized I was  
  
babbling. I was a little surprised to see Kasumi's eyes take on  
  
something of a nostalgic look to them as she seemed to consider my  
  
question, as if she were thinking about some welcomed memories.  
  
"We never told you much about Mother, did we Ranma?" Her voice was  
  
soft as she said this, and full of reverence. I could feel the love  
  
and respect she had for her mother and it awed me slightly. I'd never  
  
heard such a tone from anyone before. "No, of course not." She  
  
continued, her voice becoming slightly sad. "We don't talk about her  
  
much anymore. Nabiki and Akane don't like to think about it and Father  
  
becomes far too emotional."  
  
By this point I was, naturally, somewhat confused. How our  
  
conversation went from her knowledge of my condition to her mother was  
  
simply beyond me, and, though I didn't want to interrupt her reverie,  
  
I was incredibly curious. "Umm, no you didn't, Kasumi, but what, uh,  
  
what does that have to do with..." I trailed off once more as she  
  
looked towards me and smiled at my obvious impatience.  
  
"The reason I bring her up, Ranma, is because Mother was the  
  
reason for my initial interest in the occult." My face must have shown  
  
my shock fairly well, which didn't exactly surprise me since I was  
  
never good at covering things like that, because she laughed lightly  
  
at my look. When she finished laughing, she smiled to reassure me and  
  
continued to explain. "I know we've spoken of Mother as a very  
  
traditional woman and she was, in her own way, but that is mostly  
  
because Father doesn't like to remember the other things about her."  
  
For the first time since I'd met her I heard a small amount of  
  
bitterness in Kasumi's tone, directed at her Father's selective  
  
memories. I got the feeling that this was an old point of contention  
  
between the two, but decided to let the matter drop and instead asked  
  
the main question on my mind.  
  
"What types of other things?" The wistful look enters her eyes  
  
again and I realize this time that her mind is being occupied with  
  
thoughts of a mother, long lost to her. It's a feeling I can relate  
  
to, having always wondered slightly what it would have been like to  
  
grow up with a mother, so I let her gather her thoughts without any  
  
pressure.  
  
"Mother was a Wiccan, Ranma." Once again, my emotion must have  
  
been pretty clear on my face because Kasumi smiles at my confusion  
  
before clarifying. "A Wiccan is an Earth Witch. Mother was a very  
  
powerful Witch."  
  
My eyes widened appreciatively at that and once again Kasumi laughed  
  
lightly at what was, no doubt, a very comical look on my face. Dozens  
  
of questions swooped through my head, each trying to make itself  
  
known, before I finally settled on the one that came back most  
  
insistently. "So, umm, can you...?" Not really sure how to ask if the  
  
girl in front of me was a Witch as well, I merely left the question  
  
open, knowing she would understand anyway. The look of sadness in her  
  
eyes was answer enough but I waited for her to speak anyway.  
  
"No." She sighed a bit before continuing on and I got the feeling  
  
that this was something she was very disappointed about in her life.  
  
"Unfortunately, I never inherited any of Mother's ability. I can mix a  
  
few small potions, but only because they require no real magical  
  
ability, simply the correct ingredients. In fact, of the three of us,  
  
only Akane ever showed any aptitude towards magic. Mother may have  
  
even taught her, when she got older, but after she passed on Father  
  
discouraged it as much as he could, even going so far as to blame  
  
Mother's death on the magic in her, instead of the tumor we know  
  
killed her." I could see the sadness creep over her again and I wanted  
  
to comfort her in some way, but I've never been very good at conveying  
  
that sort of thing, so I merely waited for her to continue. After a  
  
moment, she did continue. "I probably should have taken it upon myself  
  
to teach Akane in our Mother's ways - despite my lack of ability, I  
  
had been taught a great deal of knowledge by Mother before she died -  
  
but I could already see that Akane had inherited  
  
Father's...temperament."  
  
She must have seen the questioning look in my eyes, because she  
  
elaborated moments later. "Magic isn't like Martial Arts, you see.  
  
Whereas, Father and Akane can be quite good at Martial Arts, despite  
  
their quick tempers and...unstable emotions, magic requires a degree  
  
of control, of balance, that Akane lacked. Akane is too quick to lose  
  
her temper, to quick to grab at the easiest answer. I was always  
  
afraid that if I taught her magic, she would quickly fall into the  
  
Darker Arts, and it would corrupt her." My face took on a slightly  
  
disbelieving look, and I knew she could read it easily. We both knew  
  
Akane was generally a nice person and I was surprised that Kasumi  
  
would even suggest that she would be evil. She smiled at my defense,  
  
even silent as it was, of her sister and clarified. "A person doesn't  
  
have to be evil for the magic to corrupt them, it's merely about the  
  
way it's used. Darker magic tends to give the user a feeling of power  
  
that leaves them craving more. The more one uses it, the more they  
  
crave it and eventually they have more dark magic in their system than  
  
they can control. When Mother died, Akane threw herself into Martial  
  
Arts because she needed to feel strong, feel in control. Had I taught  
  
her magic, the same need would have transferred over. It wouldn't have  
  
been a matter of if she was corrupted, but a matter of when."  
  
Understanding came to me quickly. I'd seen Akane's craving for  
  
power enough times to realize that this was true. I marveled for a  
  
moment on just how alike Akane and I were in some respects; both of us  
  
struggling to gain some control over a life we felt lost in. I shook  
  
my head of that thought and tried to bring the conversation back to  
  
its original focus. "So it was your Mother who taught you about  
  
Dampyrs?"  
  
"No, Mother, for all her power, was only beginning to learn about  
  
magic when she died. She had only learned about her power from a  
  
cousin of hers about two years before, after all." I was suitably  
  
confused at this point, of course, because I still didn't know where  
  
she had learned what she knew, but Kasumi continued quickly,  
  
enlightening me. "After Mother died, Father tried to stop us from  
  
learning anything about magic. As I said, he blamed it for her death,  
  
despite that we knew different. He quickly gathered up anything magic-  
  
related he could find of hers and set about destroying it. I was lucky  
  
to have saved some of her books, but most of it was lost. Despite his  
  
insistence, however, I knew that I had to learn what I could about  
  
Mother's Art. I knew that none of the three of us would ever be able  
  
to use it like Mother could, but I hoped that perhaps one of our  
  
children would be able to, so I studied anything on the occult I could  
  
find. At first, it was mostly the books of Mother's that I had managed  
  
to save and the few I could find at the libraries around the area, but  
  
that all changed when a new doctor moved into town to open a clinic."  
  
I was somewhat surprised again, but after the other shocks of our  
  
conversation the fact that Dr. Tofu helped her learn of the occult  
  
didn't exactly surprise me much. I merely nodded to show I understood  
  
and waited for her to continue. "When Dr Tofu first arrived in town to  
  
set up his clinic, I did the proper thing and brought over some  
  
cookies to welcome him to the area. I put a mild wellness potion in  
  
them, as I do with many of my meals, in order to promote health. It's  
  
just a small thing and one of the few I could do well but he  
  
immediately recognized the taste and looked at me with surprise." She  
  
laughed lightly once more before continuing with a great deal of  
  
fondness in her voice. "You can't imagine my surprise when instead of  
  
commenting on how good my cookies taste, as most people do, he asked  
  
me how long I'd been doing magic. We quickly began to talk and I  
  
discovered that Tofu was extremely knowledgeable on the subject, much  
  
more so than my Mother ever was. Apparently he was part of some sort  
  
of society that studies the occult and supernatural phenomenon. He  
  
never said much about it and I never really pushed seeing how he never  
  
really wanted to get into it, but I quickly became very well  
  
acquainted with his library of books."  
  
I smiled at the wonder in her voice as Kasumi describes the stacks  
  
upon stacks of books that Dr Tofu kept on all the different subjects  
  
she could have ever wanted to study. "Of course, I had to pretend that  
  
they were all medical books when I brought them home as Father was  
  
still very much against Witchcraft, but that was easy enough to do. It  
  
was actually shortly before you arrived that I borrowed a book from  
  
him that detailed the life of a vampire hunter who called himself  
  
simply 'D'. D was a Dampyr, like yourself, though he got his blood  
  
from his father's side. It was said that his father was Dracula  
  
himself, though I don't know if that was true. In the book, he was  
  
always very sad, he always seemed so out of place." She looked up at  
  
me sadly and I knew she was thinking about my place in things. "You  
  
don't feel that way here do you, Ranma?"  
  
I smiled for a moment at the concern she was showing me but I  
  
couldn't keep the smile on my face for long. It was hard to smile when  
  
I knew that she had hit exactly on what I usually felt, on the reason  
  
I often thought of leaving. I wanted to lie to her and tell her that  
  
she always made me feel welcome, but I knew she would see through it  
  
in a heartbeat. "Sometimes." I said, knowing that even then I was  
  
stretching the truth. 'Most times' would have been a much more  
  
accurate statement. "It's hard to feel like you belong when ya know  
  
that yer different from everyone else. 'Specially when you have ta  
  
keep it secret all the time." I think my answer saddened her even  
  
more, but I knew she was happy that I was truthful with her at least.  
  
She must have felt something in the way I said it though, because  
  
after a moment she looked sharply at me. She stood there for a moment,  
  
merely reading my face and I began to get a little nervous at what she  
  
might have found there, but after a moment her look turned sad again  
  
and I knew what she had seen. Resignation.  
  
"You're leaving, aren't you?" She asked quietly. Though it was a  
  
question, she asked it as if she already knew the answer so I saw no  
  
point in trying to deny it. Instead I merely nodded slightly and  
  
awaited her response. She looked at me for another long moment before  
  
speaking up again. "She'll get over it, you know. She's simply shocked  
  
right now. Her entire world has been turned upside-down again. Give  
  
her a little time and she will get over it." I didn't have to ask  
  
about whom she was talking, as it was fairly obvious. Even as she said  
  
it though, I could see the small flickers of doubt in her eyes. She  
  
knew the same things I did, after all.  
  
"I don't think she ever truly got over my curse, how will she get  
  
over this?" I could see her getting ready to argue some more, but I  
  
beat her to it this time. "Well, I guess we'll see how things turn  
  
out, but I ain't holding my breath."  
  
Resignation came over her face as she realized that this was  
  
something I simply didn't want to discuss and she turns away to put on  
  
a kettle of water. Turning back towards me, she addresses me once more  
  
as we both realize that our conversation is more or less over. "Would  
  
you like some tea, Ranma? I was going to bring some out for everyone."  
  
I smiled a bit at her before declining, stating that I was tired  
  
and was going to turn in early that night. She smiled softly at me  
  
before turning away to busy herself getting the tea ready. I moved  
  
towards the door but stopped before going through and turned back  
  
towards her. "Kasumi?" I called softly, waiting for her to turn to  
  
face me.  
  
"Yes, Ranma?" She turned towards me with a small smile on her  
  
face.  
  
"I, umm...thanks...for, ya know, talking to me about this."  
  
Thanking people never was one of my strong suits.  
  
"You're welcome, Ranma. I'm always here to talk." I turned and  
  
headed out the door, back into the living room, a small smile on my  
  
face. Talking to Kasumi had always made me feel a little better about  
  
myself, but I knew there was someone else I needed to talk to. Someone  
  
who could basically decide whether or not I was going to stay in  
  
Nerima. Someone who was walking out of the room towards the upstairs  
  
even as I walked out of the kitchen. I quickly changed directions,  
  
headed over to intercept Akane before she reached the stairs. Walking  
  
up to her, I called her name to get her attention. She turned towards  
  
me as I stopped in front of her and waited for me to speak. Her face  
  
was a mix of emotions and I was having a good deal of trouble figuring  
  
out what she was thinking so I simply asked her if I could talk to  
  
her.  
  
"Umm, can we talk later, Ranma?" She asked quietly, and I knew  
  
that she was having trouble dealing with all the new revelations of  
  
the evening. I took another moment to watch her expressions as I tried  
  
to figure out what she was feeling. I had always been good at reading  
  
peoples emotions from their faces, it was a talent I picked up from  
  
trying to read people in a fight, I simply didn't use this talent very  
  
often. It probably would have saved me a great deal of trouble over  
  
the years if I had, but I wasn't really used to thinking about things  
  
like that outside of a fight. I put all that talent to use then,  
  
although it was difficult to see. Her face was a mix of contradicting  
  
emotions, all flying in for a moment before zooming off to make room  
  
for another. Her mind must have been in a fair amount of turmoil to  
  
produce that type of confusion. As I watched though, several different  
  
things came to her face that I immediately recognized. It started with  
  
confusion, which immediately moved to anger, then skipped merrily to  
  
hurt and betrayal. These looks hurt me a great deal to see, because I  
  
knew I was the cause of them but it was the look that came after that  
  
destroyed me. Fear. It was only there for a moment before she went  
  
back to confusion, gone so quickly she probably hadn't even noticed it  
  
herself, but it was there all the same. She was afraid of me.  
  
I schooled my features before answering her. "Umm, sure thing  
  
Akane. I was just gonna head off to bed anyway." I looked at her for  
  
another moment, hoping, despite myself, that she would stop me from  
  
leaving and open up what she was feeling. Instead she gained a very  
  
noticeable look of relief on her face before quickly responding.  
  
"Okay, well, I'll...unn, see you in the morning then, Ranma." Then  
  
she turned around and walked quickly up the stairs. I heard her door  
  
open and close a moment later and knew that my time in Nerima was  
  
done.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
That night, I packed up my backpack and stored it in my bedroom  
  
closet before turning in for the night. I didn't sleep though, merely  
  
lay on my side, facing the wall opposite the door, and thought about  
  
my life and what I planned to do next. Father came in sometime after  
  
ten, but I pretended to be asleep when he tried to talk to me. I knew  
  
that he was trying to cheer me up and I was thankful for the effort,  
  
but all I really wanted was for him to fall asleep so I could get out  
  
unnoticed. I knew that if I talked to him he would instantly sense  
  
what I was planning to do. He had raised me alone all of my life,  
  
after all, there was no one who knew me better than he did. After a  
  
few moments of unsuccessfully attempting to talk to me, he gave up  
  
with a sigh and laid himself down in the futon next to me to sleep.  
  
I'm sure he knew I was still awake, but he probably also knew that I  
  
didn't want to talk to anyone at that moment.  
  
I waited a few hours, until I was sure that everyone was asleep,  
  
before making my move. Silently raising myself from my bedroll, I  
  
looked over to see my Father sleeping loudly next to me, his snores a  
  
comfort I found I would strangely miss. Rolling up my bedroll, I  
  
slipped it into my backpack before silently moving from the room. I  
  
thought about going out the window, but as it was closed I didn't want  
  
to attempt to quietly open it. The thing squeaked like you wouldn't  
  
believe. Instead I left by the door, opening it and closing it as  
  
silently as I could before making my way down the stairs and towards  
  
the back door, stopping only briefly to drop a note one the table. The  
  
note was simple enough, just a quick thank you for their hospitality  
  
and an apology for not being able to live up to the promise between  
  
families. As well, I had written a short PS to Nabiki saying I would  
  
mail the money I owed her as soon as I was able. The note was short  
  
and too the point, but then, I was never known for my way with words.  
  
I quietly made my way out the back door, closing and locking it  
  
behind me and was about to walk over to the wall when I was startled  
  
by a gruff voice I knew better than my own. "Taking off without me,  
  
Son?"  
  
I turned around to face my Father and watched as he melted out of  
  
the shadows from below our window, which I noticed was now opened. I  
  
regarded him sadly for a moment as he walked up to me, a sad but  
  
determined look on his face. "We've been through a lot together,  
  
Ranma, if you think I'm going to let you wander off by yourself now,  
  
you're wrong."  
  
I smiled a bit at that, a happiness entering me at knowing that  
  
even to the cost of having to leave his wife and best friend once  
  
more, he would still go with me. It always made me happy to know he  
  
cared about me so much. I knew, though, that I couldn't let him leave  
  
with me this time. "Father," I began, and I saw him smile a bit at the  
  
obvious affection I put in the word. "I'd love more than anything to  
  
have you come with me, but I can't let you. Not this time."  
  
His face fell into a frown and he began to argue, though he kept  
  
it quiet so as not to wake up the sleeping household. "Son, I'm not  
  
going to let you..."  
  
"I know, Father. You don't want me ta be alone and I'm glad you  
  
don't." My face dropped a bit, because I knew that after this I  
  
wouldn't see him again for a long time. "What you don't see is that I  
  
don't want you ta be alone either."  
  
"Son, I'm not..." He began, but I cut him off once more.  
  
"No. You can't lie ta me, Father. Even when I was little, I could  
  
see how much ya missed Nodoka." His eyes fell a little and I know he  
  
wouldn't deny what I was saying so I continued onward. "You've been  
  
away from her fer ten years 'cause of me, I ain't gonna let you stay  
  
away longer."  
  
"I won't leave you to live alone, Son. Even if it means leaving my  
  
wife again." He looked up into my eyes and I could see the pride and  
  
love he had for me there. It only served to strengthen my resolve. He  
  
deserved his happiness.  
  
"Please, Father." I looked at him imploringly as I spoke. "Please,  
  
do this one thing for me. It tears me up that you've been apart for so  
  
long 'cause of me. I couldn't stand the thought of you leavin' her  
  
again. Please. You deserve to be happy." I couldn't stop the tears  
  
from welling up in my eyes, but I held them in, glad for the cover of  
  
darkness as it hid my watery eyes from his view.  
  
"What about you? Where will you go?" He asked finally. His voice  
  
was more gruff than usual and I knew that this talk of me leaving was  
  
having as much affect on him as it was on me.  
  
"I don't know yet." I said softly, and I really didn't. My first  
  
thought was to visit Dr Tofu, as I knew where his new clinic was set  
  
up, but I had yet to fully decide. Right then I knew I just had to  
  
leave. "I've got a few ideas, but I'm not really sure yet." Looking at  
  
him, seeing the look he was giving me, the 'that's not good enough'  
  
look that all parents seem to know, I quickly tacked on, "But I'll let  
  
you know as soon as I figure it out."  
  
He nodded slightly in answer and I knew then that he was letting  
  
me go. I could see the sadness on his face, but I think he could see  
  
the resolve on mine. Instead of saying anything else he merely walked  
  
up to me and pulled me into a fatherly hug. I hugged him back for a  
  
moment before we let go and he stepped back, leaving one hand on my  
  
shoulder. He stood there for a moment, just looking at me before he  
  
spoke up again. "You will write me." He said with conviction, more of  
  
a statement than a request. "And tell me where you are and if you  
  
settle down."  
  
I smiled at him, glad he wasn't planning to argue anymore, yet sad  
  
that I would be leaving him behind. "Of course, Father. I'll write  
  
whenever I can." He smiled a little as well, though I could tell it  
  
was more for me than for himself. He stepped back then, allowing his  
  
hand to fall back to his side and I swung my pack back on. Turning  
  
around I walked over to the wall and quickly leapt to the top before  
  
looking back at my Father. I stood there for a moment, just watching  
  
the man who raised me alone for ten years. "Take care, Father. I will  
  
see you again."  
  
"Take care, Son. Be careful." And then I turned away and began  
  
hopping from roof to roof on my way out of town.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
I had one more stop to make before I left town, and it wasn't one  
  
I had any intention of missing. I'd already left Ucchan behind once  
  
without word, I wasn't going to do it again. Making my way across the  
  
rooftops of Nerima I wondered if I was doing the right thing by going  
  
at all. I knew I had to, of course, but that didn't make it any  
  
easier. I knew I had to tell her the truth, if only because she would  
  
find out eventually anyway and as my oldest friend, she had the right  
  
to hear it from me personally. I really didn't relish the idea of  
  
losing my oldest friend though and more than once on the way I almost  
  
chickened out. It didn't take long, however, before I was standing on  
  
the roof of the Ucchan's and debating how to wake her up. Finally  
  
deciding to use the window method, I dropped my bag on her roof and  
  
leaned over the sided, catching the edge with my feet. Hanging upside-  
  
down outside her window, I tapped on it, hoping to wake her quickly as  
  
it wasn't the most comfortable of positions. After a few moments of  
  
waiting, the curtains swung aside and a very confused, and somewhat  
  
sleepy Ukyo opened up the window.  
  
"Ranchan?" She said my name with a stifled yawn, looking at me  
  
quizzically. I had obviously awaken her and I felt a bit bad for it,  
  
but I knew she would feel worse if I left without telling her. She  
  
stood there for a moment, trying to grapple with the fact that I was  
  
upside-down outside of her window, before she seemed to wake up  
  
completely and her eyes widened considerably. Quickly, she got out of  
  
the way so I could enter and than she latched on to me excitedly once  
  
I had. "You're back! When did you get back?"  
  
It was only then that I remembered that I had only just returned  
  
from China. After everything that had happened today, it felt like  
  
ages ago that we returned. Suddenly I felt even worse about what I had  
  
to tell her. As if it wasn't bad enough I was leaving, but after only  
  
just returning. "Hey Ucchan, I just got back earlier today." Belatedly  
  
I thought to add, "Sorry about coming so late, but it's kinda  
  
important."  
  
She calmed down considerably at that remark and I realized that my  
  
face must have been showing my emotions again because she almost  
  
seemed to become worried. She pulled me across the room and sat me  
  
down on the bed before sitting next to me and putting her hand on  
  
mine. Looking at me with concerned eyes, she quietly asks if I'm  
  
alright.  
  
"Yeah...no...I don't know, things are just changing fast right now  
  
and I guess I'm still a bit lost." I sighed a bit and she rubbed my  
  
hand gently with hers, telling me that it was okay, and that I could  
  
tell her anything. I felt a little guilty when she said that, as I'd  
  
been keeping my true nature a secret from her for so long, but I was  
  
still worried about telling her. "That's just it though, Ucchan, I  
  
haven't told you everything. There's something that I've kept secret  
  
from everyone, and now that it's come out, things are gonna be very  
  
different. I figure yer gonna find out the truth anyway, so it'd be  
  
better if I tell you myself."  
  
She definitely looked worried after I said that, but she put on a  
  
brave face, smiling that cute smile of hers, and I did feel a little  
  
better. Not much, mind you, but a little. "Why don't you start from  
  
the beginning, Ranchan?"  
  
I chuckled a bit morosely at that before answering her. "The  
  
beginning. The beginning is a long time ago, Ucchan." I thought  
  
quietly for a few moments, trying to decide where I truly should  
  
start. Ukyo just watched patiently, allowing me to gather my thoughts.  
  
"I guess it all really starts with my Mother." I could see her about  
  
to interrupt, probably wondering what Nodoka had to do with it, so I  
  
beat her to it. "Not Nodoka, though, my real Mother."  
  
This statement garnered a shocked gasp, though I completely  
  
expected that. She recovered quickly, however, and motioned for me to  
  
continue. Having decided to tell her everything, I started from the  
  
very beginning, telling her of my Father's ill-fated arranged  
  
marriage, of my Mother's turning and my subsequent arrival on their  
  
doorstop. I told her of our meeting with my Mother years down the  
  
line, and of what we discovered I truly was. I told her about my  
  
nature, stuff we never told the Tendos during our talk with them. I  
  
told her of the urges that kept me awake some nights, the occasional  
  
need for blood that ended with us being driven out of more towns than  
  
I could remember. I told her everything, and in the end I told her  
  
that I was leaving. Her response surprised me, though I suppose it  
  
shouldn't have. I expected scorn, I've received it all my life.  
  
Instead I got an offer of company.  
  
"If you're leaving, I'm coming with you." Well, not so much an  
  
offer as a demand. I stared at her wide-eyed, considering what she  
  
said. A part of me wanted her to come, craved the company on the long  
  
open road, but I knew it wasn't a life she wanted, anymore than my  
  
Father really did. She only made the offer because she wanted to be  
  
around me. As happy as that made me, I couldn't accept, especially  
  
since I couldn't love her the way she wanted me to. I'd always seen  
  
her as a sister (well, a brother originally) and I didn't think I'd  
  
ever see her any other way. I looked down for a moment, gathering my  
  
thoughts once more, before looking back at her, my eyes sad, but  
  
resigned.  
  
"No." Was all I said at first. With Ucchan, simple denials were  
  
always the best as she had a tendency to try and twist what you said  
  
to agree with what she wanted. I don't think she did it on purpose, at  
  
least not always, but she did it none-the-less. When she was about to  
  
start arguing, I spoke up again, trying to explain why I had said no.  
  
"Now don't get me wrong, Ucchan, I'd love the company on the road, but  
  
I can't let you come along. First of all, the trip will probably be  
  
dangerous. Father always managed to hide me from the local demons and  
  
stuff, in order to protect me, but I won't have that luxury anymore.  
  
In fact, I probably won't even want ta hide. Secondly, you've never  
  
actually lived on the road before, not the way I have. I know you  
  
trained for ten years, same as me, but you spent most of that time  
  
going to school and stuff, living near cities. When I travel, I spend  
  
lots of time away from cities. It's rough and it sucks and not long  
  
into it, you'll wish you'd stayed home. Trust me, so will I."  
  
She merely looked at me evenly for a few moments and I knew she  
  
was planning to pull out the big guns at any moment. The 'I'm your  
  
fiancee and I love you' approach. She always used that method when she  
  
was getting desperate, because she knew it usually succeeded. Mostly  
  
because if I still said no, she would begin to get misty-eyed and I'd  
  
do just about anything to cheer her up. I'm a sucker, I know. This  
  
time however, I wasn't about to let it get that far, so I beat her to  
  
it. "I know what yer gonna say, Ucchan. Yer gonna say that we're  
  
fiancees, and that we should be together." Her face firmed up and she  
  
nodded carefully, knowing I was going somewhere she wouldn't like.  
  
"The thing is Ucchan...well, ummm." It definitely wasn't easy saying  
  
something like this to my friend, but I'd always known I would have to  
  
eventually. I knew it would hurt her no matter when I said it, and I  
  
guess that's why I ended up just blurting it out. "I'm not gonna marry  
  
you Ucchan." After a moment to let that settle in, for both of us, I  
  
added. "Probably ever."  
  
I could see the emotions running across her face as she considered  
  
what I said, especially now that I was actively looking for them. The  
  
emotions were varied, but all expected. Surprise. Anger. Hurt.  
  
Betrayal. Sadness. They finally settled in the same place I expected  
  
them to: Denial. "But Ranchan, I'm..." Knowing what she was going to  
  
say, I cut her off once more. It was beginning to become a trend that  
  
night.  
  
"You've been my best friend for a long time, Ucchan, and I care  
  
about you very much..." Her face lit up a bit at that. I rarely ever  
  
said anything of the sort, so it probably made her feel a little  
  
better to hear it, but I knew it would be short lived. I just hoped  
  
that I would make it out of this conversation still having a friend.  
  
"but I don't love you, not the way you want me to. You've been like  
  
the sister I always wanted, and I just can't see you any other way." I  
  
sighed briefly before continuing, looking down at my hands and letting  
  
my tone drop, as my desperation entered my voice. It was a dirty  
  
trick, one I don't normally like to use, but I really was desperate to  
  
keep at least one friend. "I just hope you can understand, cause I  
  
really don't want to lose you as a friend."  
  
I left it at that and just sat for a while, staring at my hands  
  
and waiting for Ukyo to think about what I had said. I was sitting at  
  
a breaking moment and I knew it too well. If she chose to continue  
  
pursuing me, I would have to leave anyway, and may irreparably damage  
  
our friendship. When she finally answered, it was all I could do to  
  
keep my nervousness from my face. "It's three months till the end of  
  
the school year." I looked up at her, confusion very evident on my  
  
face at the sudden change of topics. She wasn't looking at me, but at  
  
feeling my gaze, she turned towards me as well, meeting my eyes. She  
  
smiled sadly before continuing. "I'd like to finish the school year  
  
before I up and moved again, so I guess you'll have to go alone."  
  
I shared her sad smile for a few moments, realizing how much it  
  
probably hurt her to say that. After a moment, though, her face  
  
hardened noticeably and I knew there was a condition coming. "You  
  
will, however, write me." I nodded quickly, hoping to placate her and  
  
avoid too many conditions. She quickly continued, however. "At least  
  
once a month. To tell me both how you're doing and where you are." I  
  
must have looked like I was about to protest, because this time she  
  
beat me to it. "And if you don't, I'll be hunting you again in a  
  
heartbeat. I've got lots of practice now, so don't think I couldn't  
  
find you again."  
  
We shared another smile, and I nodded once more to reassure her  
  
that I would do as she asked. I had no doubt I could get away from her  
  
if I tried, but I really had no desire to, especially now that I knew  
  
she wouldn't chase me down again. "I also expect you to tell me if you  
  
settle down somewhere, cause I would like to be able to visit you at  
  
some point. Just cause I'm not following you right away, don't expect  
  
me to stay away forever. I'm not giving up on you, Ranchan,  
  
just...postponing it a bit." I laughed out loud when she said that,  
  
but it was more from relief than humour and I was sure she could see  
  
that, as her smile instantly widened. It was nice to know I would  
  
still have a friend when word finished spreading around Nerima.  
  
I glanced at the clock then and realized that we had been talking  
  
for quite a long time. I had to go very soon or people would be waking  
  
up. Ukyo must have realized this too because she stood up then and  
  
walked towards her dresser, opening it up and rooting around for a  
  
moment. Pulling something out, she fiddled with it for a moment before  
  
turning back towards me where I was now standing beside her bed.  
  
Walking up to me, she held out her hands to offer me what she was  
  
holding - one of her throwing spatulas with a white ribbon wrapped  
  
around it. I recognized the ribbon immediately, it was one of her  
  
favourites, one I had called cute a number of times. I took it from  
  
her and looked up at her questioningly. "For good luck," She smiled.  
  
"and so you think of me from time to time while you're gone."  
  
She then motioned me towards the window and I walked over to it. I  
  
turned back once more and she pulled me into a quick hug, whispering a  
  
'see you soon' into my ear before letting go. Somehow, I actually felt  
  
better knowing that after everything said tonight she was still  
  
planning to come after me eventually. I knew that I'd end up alone in  
  
the end, I always did, but it was nice to know that someone was  
  
thinking of me at least.  
  
Stepping up to the window, I flipped out of it and jumped back up  
  
to the roof of her building to retrieve my pack. Throwing it up on my  
  
back, I pulled the worn leather straps tight and turned towards the  
  
south. Feeling a cool breeze on my face I smiled slightly before  
  
running to the end of the roof and heading off into the night, towards  
  
the edge of Nerima.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
I didn't stop running until early in the morning when I reached  
  
the train station in the next district over. While I usually used the  
  
slower, but much cheaper method of walking where I wanted to go, I  
  
felt that it wouldn't be necessary to cover my tracks too badly this  
  
time, and I wanted to make it to Tofu's tonight, rather than in a week  
  
or so. Walking up to the ticket window I purchased the first available  
  
ticket to Yokohama and was pleased to see that it left in a little  
  
under an hour. Just enough time to get a bite to eat.  
  
Haven eaten at a small ramen shop next door to the station, I sat  
  
down and waited a short time before boarding the train when it  
  
arrived. Finding a seat, I sat my pack next to me and was very quickly  
  
lulled into a deep sleep, despite the old lady attempting to talk with  
  
me from the next seat. It had been a rather long night, after all. I  
  
don't remember much of what I dreamt during the ride, but I remember  
  
my dreams being very disjointed and disturbing, no doubt due to my  
  
stressful night, and not being terribly rested when I was jolted awake  
  
upon reaching my stop. Grumbling slightly about rides not being long  
  
enough to get decent rest, I grabbed my pack and, excusing myself from  
  
the lady still sitting next to me, I walked off the train and out of  
  
the station. Heading out to the street, I quickly oriented myself and  
  
began walking in the direction of Tofu's clinic.  
  
Though it was in a different city from where I lived, I had been  
  
to his new clinic two or three times since he had moved there three  
  
months before. Despite the distance, he was still the only doctor I  
  
really trusted to deal with my cursed form. Most of the doctors I had  
  
seen treated me as a freak or a guinea pig as soon as they saw my  
  
curse; Dr Tofu always managed to see me as just Ranma. I respected and  
  
appreciated that a lot, so I always went out of my way to go to him  
  
for physicals and problems, even after he moved.  
  
It helped that I was the only one who knew where he moved, so I  
  
was able to go unaccosted, but I probably would have gone regardless.  
  
After a half hour of walking I came upon the front of his clinic  
  
(though the word 'his' wasn't quite appropriate since he shared it  
  
with another doctor. I guess the cost of the building was higher here  
  
than in Nerima) and entered the building. Wandering over to the front  
  
desk, I greeted the young secretary, Eiko, who smiled and blushed  
  
prettily at seeing me. She'd done that ever since I came the first  
  
time and commented that Tofu finally got a cute secretary. One of  
  
these days you would think I would learn. At least she never pushed  
  
it, simply flirted with me when I came in and blushed a lot. Besides,  
  
she was cute.  
  
After talking to her for a few moments about inconsequential  
  
things, she pressed the intercom for Dr Tofu's office and told him I  
  
was there. It being a relatively slow day, he told her to let me right  
  
in. Smiling at Eiko, I walked past her and opened the door I knew led  
  
into Tofu's office and found the man in question walking over to greet  
  
me.  
  
"Ranma, it's good to see you." He smiled genially at me and  
  
clapped me gently on the shoulder. I could tell he was a little  
  
confused to see me, as I didn't come very often, generally only when I  
  
had my checkups. He probably would have been worried if I hadn't left  
  
my pack behind Eiko's desk. "What can I do for you? Your next  
  
checkup's not for another three weeks."  
  
He ushered me into the seat in front of his desk and went back to  
  
his seat behind it. As I sat down, I thought about how to approach  
  
this. I knew that in order to find out anything from him, I would have  
  
to tell him about myself, especially once I told him I'd left the  
  
Tendo place. Sighing to myself, I realized I was in for another long  
  
conversation like I seemed to be having all of yesterday. I was just  
  
far too tired to try and lie my way out of it. Besides, I respected Dr  
  
Tofu too much to even try. Sitting back, I looked at him for a moment  
  
before I started talking. "Well, it's...kinda complicated, but...umm,  
  
I kinda moved out of the Tendo place." Even knowing I had to tell him  
  
didn't make it any easier and I still hummed and hawed as I talked.  
  
Upon saying I moved out, though, Dr Tofu's face immediately became  
  
concerned and he urged me to continue. "The thing is,  
  
something...important happened and, uh, after talking to...the  
  
Tendo's," He was better, but I was still leery of using Kasumi's name  
  
in conversation. "I figured that you may be able to, ahh, help me with  
  
something."  
  
Tofu could tell that I was nervous about what I was trying to say,  
  
of course - A blind and deaf three year old could have told I was  
  
nervous at that point - so he simply sat quietly and allowed me  
  
whatever time I needed to decide how to say it. Finally, after a few  
  
moments of simply staring at my hands, I decided that blurting it out  
  
had worked pretty well for me so far today (or was it yesterday) so I  
  
continued the trend. "I'm, ahh, well, I'm...I'm not human, Doc. Not  
  
completely, anyway."  
  
He sat there for another long moment as I waited nervously for him  
  
to respond. I thought it was because I had stunned him to silence, but  
  
he proved me wrong a moment later. "I know." Was all he said.  
  
To say I was stunned would be a vast understatement. I sat there  
  
gaping at him for a few moments before I finally voiced my confusion.  
  
"Whadda ya mean, 'I know'? How could you know?"  
  
Tofu chuckled lightly at my obvious agitation before answering me  
  
as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I've been working  
  
in this profession long enough to recognize the difference between  
  
human and non-human auras, Ranma. Your aura has never looked entirely  
  
human, though it does look partially. I never really figured out what  
  
you were exactly, but I could easily tell you weren't human." I stared  
  
at him for a long moment as he allowed me to absorb what he had said.  
  
Once he was sure I got everything in my slightly tired and confused  
  
state, he continued. "I figured you would tell me about it once you  
  
felt ready. Let me hazard a guess: the Tendo's found out the truth and  
  
Ka-Kasumi told you about my extensive library?"  
  
Once more I found myself gaping at the man, for more than one  
  
reason. Aside from the obvious, that he had managed to bring Kasumi  
  
into a conversation without freaking out, he had also managed to put  
  
together pretty much my entire situation. In fact, the only thing he  
  
didn't know was what I actually was. I figured I might as well fill  
  
him in on that much. "Yeah, that's pretty much exactly what happened.  
  
As for what I am," I waited a moment for dramatic tension. I figured I  
  
owed him for shocking me like that, though judging from his smile he  
  
knew what I was doing. "I'm Dampyr."  
  
I have to admit, it was rather satisfying to see him nearly fall  
  
out of his chair. I had to hold back a slight snicker as he struggled  
  
to regain his balance. Not that I blamed him for being surprised. As I  
  
said before, Dampyrs are rare; the chances of one showing up in your  
  
office are so slim that he never would have expected it. It took Tofu  
  
a few moments to pull himself back together before he was nearly  
  
demanding to know the details. I'd never seen him so excited and it  
  
amused me greatly to see him nearly stumbling to get a notebook so he  
  
could write my story out. When he finally calmed down enough to write,  
  
I began my story once more, severely hoping I didn't have to go  
  
through it again any time soon.  
  
It took a fair amount longer to tell the story this time than it  
  
did with either the Tendos or Ukyo as Tofu was constantly asking  
  
questions to clarify things. He even cancelled his appointments for  
  
the rest of the morning in order to get the full story out of me. Eiko  
  
was a little concerned when he did that, but she shifted his schedule  
  
as best she could for him. We spent the rest of the morning talking  
  
about my past as he recorded anything relevant. Though it bothered me  
  
a little to have my life written down for others to read, I let it go.  
  
There really was very little written on Dampyrs anywhere, so I figured  
  
this may help any future children like myself get by a little more  
  
easily. Besides, he promised to leave my name out unless I ever told  
  
him otherwise.  
  
When we finally finished, he took me out for a late lunch at a  
  
small restaurant nearby and we discussed what I was planning to do now  
  
that I was homeless. I admitted that I was basically without a plan  
  
and Tofu was quick to offer me a place to stay. Though I was grateful  
  
for the offer, I was a little reluctant to accept. The man had been  
  
very good to me over the time I had known him and the last thing I  
  
wanted to do was take advantage of him. He quickly convinced me to  
  
accept though with the offer of not only knowledge on the subject of  
  
my Mother's people, which he claimed to have a great deal of, but also  
  
some training as well. It turned out the good doctor was quite  
  
accomplished at swordplay and was willing to teach me proper use of  
  
the Katana as well as several other models.  
  
Having decided my immediate future at least, we headed back to the  
  
clinic where I grabbed my backpack and Dr Tofu showed me the living  
  
section upstairs. Setting up a futon in the spare room, he left me to  
  
take his afternoon patients and I laid down to take a nap, the stress  
  
and lack of sleep finally hitting me and leaving me exhausted. I was  
  
asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
The next two months were a blessing for me, though I knew it  
  
wouldn't last long. For once, I wasn't being forced to hide what I  
  
was, though I didn't exactly advertise it either. My days would  
  
generally consist of getting up early for my Anything Goes training,  
  
which I was adamant to keep up, despite my lack of a good sparing  
  
partner. Tofu was a good martial artist, don't get me wrong, but he  
  
was nowhere near my Father or my level. He did manage to find me a few  
  
local masters to spar with sometimes and, though they were for the  
  
most part of a lower level as well, I did learn a few things about  
  
different styles during that time. After practice, I would help Dr  
  
Tofu around his clinic, cleaning up or helping with patients. For a  
  
time he had me helping Eiko with the office work, but he discovered  
  
quickly that whenever I was around her productivity went down the  
  
tubes, so that came to a quick end.  
  
During lunch, Tofu's colleague, an English man named Dr Martin,  
  
would help me brush up on my English skills. At first I was confused  
  
as to why this was necessary but Tofu quickly explained that most of  
  
the information on my kind and my Mother's kind was either written in  
  
English or one of the other western languages, and though my spoken  
  
English was passable, my written English was more or less non-  
  
existent. Though most of the work was done on my written English, we  
  
managed to increase my spoken ability to the point where I could carry  
  
conversations entirely in English without terrible difficulty. At  
  
first, Tofu was surprised that I could speak as well as I could, but I  
  
quickly explained that during our travels, my Father and I were forced  
  
to pick up English as a second language in order to get by in some  
  
areas. While finding someone who could speak Japanese in another  
  
country was sometimes a challenge, chances were that someone would  
  
speak English.  
  
After lunch I would help out as much as was needed, but generally  
  
the clinic wasn't nearly as busy, leaving me time to delve into Tofu's  
  
rather impressive library. Though I found very little about my kind  
  
that I didn't already know, I did get to read about the Dampyr Kasumi  
  
had mentioned, D, as well as two or three others. I found it  
  
interesting that all recorded Dampyrs had become Vampire Hunters at  
  
some point in their lives, making me wonder whether it was instinctual  
  
or something. A built in hatred of the creatures that spawned us,  
  
perhaps, or simply the desire to take vengeance on the demons who had  
  
made our lives so difficult. I found it difficult to feel vengeful,  
  
however, though I did think the idea had merit. My Father always told  
  
me that I was given a gift, rather than a curse, and that I should  
  
treat it as such, so why not use that gift to protect others from  
  
turning out as my Mother did. Though I never knew her, I always felt a  
  
certain pang when I thought about her and what she had become, I  
  
always wished things could have turned out differently from how they  
  
did. If my 'gifts' could be used to keep others from feeling the same  
  
way, than wasn't it my duty to use them as such.  
  
When I brought the idea towards Tofu, he was very quick to warn me  
  
of the dangers of the path I was thinking of embarking on. Vampire  
  
Hunters don't tend to live long, he warned, and the lives they have  
  
are often filled with sadness and death more than anything. When he  
  
saw that my mind wouldn't be changed, though, he rapidly changed my  
  
afternoon practice to something more appropriate to my chosen calling.  
  
Before then, my afternoon, after he had closed the clinic, consisted  
  
of him teaching me both pressure points and swordplay, two areas he  
  
was very skilled in. After I had decided on a path, however, he more  
  
or less dropped the pressure point training from my schedule, though  
  
he still taught me bits now and again, and focused on teaching me  
  
weapon fighting and demon slaying. The man had a surprisingly large  
  
knowledge of the art of Vampire and Demon Hunting, though when I asked  
  
him about it, he merely replied that it was a hobby of his. I guessed  
  
it had something to do with the society that Kasumi told me he was a  
  
part of, but he seemed reluctant to speak of it, so I didn't push. He  
  
was being very kind to me at that moment and so I wasn't going to  
  
bother him about details.  
  
After the first week of sword practice, we decided to focus my  
  
training on specific sword styles. Though I showed a decent  
  
proficiency for the Japanese Katana, I was reluctant to learn to use  
  
it. I wasn't even really sure where my reluctance came from; it was as  
  
if I had an instinctive dislike of the weapon. The only thing I could  
  
really credit it to, was that one too many fights with that idiot Kuno  
  
had killed my appreciation for what would otherwise have been a noble  
  
and elegant weapon. Surprisingly, the sword I showed the most affinity  
  
for was a Chinese double-edged blade similar to what Shampoo used when  
  
she first arrived in Nerima. Tofu postulated that it was due to the  
  
fluid nature of my style, which matched the more fluid Chinese arts,  
  
such as Tai chi and Gung-Fu as opposed to the stricter, more form-  
  
oriented Japanese arts. Whatever the reason, most of my sword practice  
  
was concentrated on a Tai-chi style blade and by the end of the two  
  
months I was quite proficient in it's use.  
  
During that time, I was also taught a great deal about the  
  
weaknesses of my Mother's people and some other common demons, though  
  
Tofu was sure to stress that not all demons were evil and required  
  
killing. I accepted this quickly though as, technically, I was part  
  
demon and was fairly sure I didn't require slaying. Unfortunately,  
  
there were very few Vampires in the local area for me to practice my  
  
technique on, something Tofu had assured me was normal for that  
  
particular area of Japan, though he admitted that Japan in general had  
  
been surprisingly quiet in Vampire activity for the past several  
  
years. In fact, the last major Vampire infestation was about the time  
  
of my Mother's turning lead by non other than my Mother's Sire,  
  
William The Bloody, commonly known by his nickname Spike. Something  
  
had happened, however, shortly after my birth which drove most of the  
  
Vampire community out of the area, and not long thereafter, out of  
  
Japan altogether. I couldn't find any real mention of what it was,  
  
however, and if Tofu knew than he was keeping it quiet, something he  
  
did from time to time though, again, I didn't push him.  
  
By the time I had spent two months with Tofu at his clinic, I  
  
decided that I had learned all I could through study and needed some  
  
actual experience in order to learn more. I always had been a hands on  
  
kind of guy and that hadn't changed much despite all the study the  
  
Doctor had put me through. Leaving, however, wasn't a decision that  
  
came easily to me. I was fairly happy living with Dr Tofu and working  
  
with him and his colleague. I knew I had to put my gift to good use,  
  
however, or I would feel guilty about wasting it, so I told Tofu that  
  
I would be leaving and asked him for advise on where to go. I still  
  
didn't really have a plan in mind, aside form finding William The  
  
Bloody, and I had no real idea of how to go about that. Tofu was quick  
  
to warn me about the hazards of vengeance trips, but I had seen the  
  
way Ryoga acted so he had no real need to worry about that. I merely  
  
felt that in order for my Mother to properly rest, her killer had to  
  
be punished, and so I was set on seeing him punished. My primary goal  
  
in my new mission, however, would always remain protecting people and  
  
Tofu understood that.  
  
Properly convinced that I wouldn't rush off and do something  
  
stupid, Dr Tofu gave me the name of a small town in California where  
  
Vampires seemed more drawn to than other areas. If I wanted to hunt  
  
them, he told me, that would be the place to go. The day I left, Tofu  
  
and Dr Martin closed down the clinic in order to take me to the train  
  
station where I would catch a train to the closest port. Tofu had  
  
given me enough money to buy a ticket to the port at Los Angeles, and  
  
though I insisted I had enough to pay myself, he felt that he had to  
  
help as much as he could. I was thankful for the help as, although I  
  
did have an inheritance from my Mother, most of it was inaccessible  
  
until I turned eighteen so I was going to have to live off of very  
  
little money for a time. Not that I wasn't used to that, of course,  
  
but it was never fun, so any help I could receive was appreciated.  
  
Eiko joined us as well at the train station and though I could  
  
tell she was unhappy that I was leaving, she smiled when I promised to  
  
write the clinic from time to time to tell them how I was doing. I  
  
made Tofu promise to help me keep in contact with Ucchan as well since  
  
I knew that the trip across the Pacific would take long enough that  
  
she would begin hunting before I was able to write her. When my train  
  
arrived, Tofu gave me one last gift and though I adamantly tried to  
  
refuse his endless generosity stating that he had already done more  
  
than enough for me, he wouldn't hear of it. Between a combination of  
  
his persistence and my need to get on the train before it left without  
  
me, I was forced to accept the sword he offered me. It was a beautiful  
  
Tai-chi blade that he had seen me admire in his collection more than  
  
once. It had a handle inlaid with jade and a black and dark green  
  
sheath. I knew the piece had to be expensive, but he insisted that it  
  
was worth far more helping me save people than sitting on his shelf  
  
collecting dust.  
  
Finally, getting a warm hug from Eiko and a firm handshake from  
  
both men, I entered the train and was on my way to begin my quest.  
  
**********************************************************************  
  
As I expected, the ship took a long time to finally reach it's  
  
destination in Los Angeles and it was a month and a half after leaving  
  
Japanese soil that I finally set foot on the coast of California. I  
  
spent several weeks hunting the night in LA, finding that although I  
  
was good, I had to be very careful when fighting the creatures of the  
  
dark. I had found myself injured several times during those two weeks  
  
and it was only my phenomenal healing rate that kept me going at  
  
times, but I finally decided that it was time to head towards my  
  
destination.  
  
That's how I got to where I am now, walking silently down a dusty  
  
highway, my pack riding high on my back as I pass by the beat up  
  
'Welcome To Sunnydale' sign. Stopping for a moment, I look towards the  
  
town I'm entering and think about how I got here, and where I'm going.  
  
I realize that though I may be alone now, perhaps, if this town really  
  
is as strange as Tofu made it out to be, I'll be able to find my place  
  
here. Perhaps I can actually have a home where I'll be accepted.  
  
Readjusting my pack, I begin walking once more and can't help but  
  
notice that my step seems to be just a little bit lighter than I can  
  
ever remember it before.  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
Authors Notes: Well, that certainly turned out a lot longer than I  
  
thought it would. I know I've been kinda lax on my stories of late, so  
  
I'm gonna apologize for that now, but I've been hit with major amounts  
  
of writer's block that I'm just now breaking out of. This story came  
  
up as an attempt to get myself out of it and it seems to have worked  
  
for the most part. By now it should be obvious where the crossover  
  
lies, though my plans for the future of this story are pretty limited  
  
at the moment. I'm probably gonna head over to some of my other  
  
stories for a while before getting back to this one anyway, so expect  
  
to see some of my others continued before this one.  
  
As usual, this will be stored at my site www.geocities.com/ranikkoku  
  
and all C&C is not only welcomed but heavily encouraged. Send it all  
  
to ranikkoku@hotmail.com  
  
Hope you enjoyed it  
  
Bob Lobster 


End file.
